GAME NOTES: The Northwestern Wildcats will try to remain perfect when they
host the Boston College Eagles, who will look for their first win against
FBS competition this season, at Ryan Field on Saturday.

It was an all-New England affair in Boston College's second game of the
season with the Eagles facing off against Maine of the FCS. AFter a sluggish
start the Eagles turned it on in the last three quarters and posted a
dominant 34-3 victory. The win came on the heels of a 41-32 loss to
conference rival Miami-Florida. The three points the Eagles allowed were the
first points BC has allowed to the Black Bears since 1915. In the previous
four matchups the Eagles had outscored Maine 154-3.

In the first two weeks of the season Northwestern has made a pair of
statement wins. First the Wildcats won a shootout in the Carrier Dome
against a seemingly improved Syracuse squad and then took down Vanderbilt of
the SEC 23-13 in the second weekend. The Wildcats have now started the
season 2-0 in each of the last five seasons. The win also keeps head coach
Pat Fitzgerald's record in home openers perfect (7-0).

This wil be the second time in as many years that these two squads meet. Las
season Northwestern came out on top with a 24-17 victory in Chestnut Hill. The
win pushed the Wildcats' all-time edge in the series to 3-1.

Scoring really hasn't been a big problem for Boston College in the first two
weeks of the season with the Eagles averaging a respectable 33.0 points per
game. The team's overall average of 461 yards-per-game is also right near
the middle of the ACC. In fact that number was higher after week one with
the Eagles only needing 385 total yards against Maine.

Chase Retting may finally be turning into the quarterback the Eagles need
this season, although through only two games that's tough to say. In his
second season as the starter Rettig has completed only 57.8 percent of his
passes but has five touchdowns to just one interception and currently leads
the ACC in passing yards (660). The junior threw three scores in the win
over Maine including two in a span of 1:37 in the second quarter. Rettig now
needs to convert the success of the first two games consistently.

On the ground the Eagles gained 166 total yards led by the combination of
Rolandan Finch and Andre Williams who combined for 141 yards on 31 carries.
Finch was the leader on the day with 90 yards on 17 carries, both team
highs. On the receiving end Alex Amidon had a strong day catching six balls
for a game high 99 yards including a touchdown.

Boston College's defense really improved from week one to week two but that
also included a drop in the level of competition. Against last week's FCS
opponent the Eagles allowed just 193 total yards on offense and to a 3
for-18 conversion rate on third down. The team did so without creating
much pressure with no sacks in the game but the unit did hold the Black
Bears to only 59 yards on 31 rushing attempts. The Eagles also nabbed two
interceptions in the game.

Nick Clancy was the leader on defense for the Eagles with 11 total tackles
and three pass breakups which were both team-highs. In fact Clancy's tackle
total was more than twice that of any other player on the squad.

The offense was stagnant for Northwestern until the fourth quarter in it's
win over Vanderbilt. After managing only six points through the first three
quarters the Wildcats erupted for 17 in the fourth and final period to
secure the victory. The Wildcats struck some balance in the offensive
attack rushing for 191 yards as a team and passing for 133 more for a total
of 324 which was just slightly better than the 318 gained by Vanderbilt.
The Wildcats also converted well with an 8-for-17 rate on third down and a
4-for-5 performance in the red zone, although they twice had to settle for
field goals.

Venric Mark carried the ball as well as the offense all game for
Northwestern. The running back tallied 123 rushing yards on 24 carries and
scored a touchdown. He also had one reception for 14 yards giving him the
team lead in all-purpose yards (158) which was almost 100 yards more than
the next player.

The defense held up enough to keep the Commodores at bay limiting them to
only 13 points in the contest. It was a markedly better performance than the
41-point barrage the Wildcats let up to Syracuse in week one. The unit
forced two fumbles and held Vanderbilt to a 4-for-15 effort on third downs
in the game. With the two turnovers Northwestern now has at least one
takeaway in each of the last 16 games and 38 of the last 41 contests.

Chi Chi Ariguzo had a another solid week and led the team with 10 tackles
including three for loss and a sack in the contest. He is now second on the
team with 17 total tackles. Team-leader Ibraheim Campbell (18) had only five
against Vanderbilt.

It has been a good start to the season for Northwestern. This will mark the
third straight non-conference game for the Wildcats against a team from
another BCS conference and should mark the third straight win against such a
team.